Tara: Pokemon RPG
by SupermewX300
Summary: When an odd boy leaves Tara's hometown of Cherrygrove, she starts having nightmares. But one night they stop. Because he came back. But no sooner is he back than he's gone again, and Tara's only hope of stopping the dreams is find him.
1. Chapter 1

RPG

Chapter 1

Mew

She woke with a start, which in itself was odd. She hadn't slept for months. And yet she had just awoken, and couldn't remember any of the night. She still had the image of Mew reverberating in her head though. It was impossible not to. Tara glanced at the clock to see it was 9 o'clock. Then it hit her. Zene. Zene must be back. He was the centre of this. She sprung out of the office chair that had replaced her bed after it was no longer needed and rushed downstairs.

On the way out a parent tried to comment on her night but she simply ran out of the house, and made for Zene's. She was almost there when a black object cut across her way. A black object with purple hair. She turned to face him but he was already 7 metres away and pulling a ball from his belt.

"Zene! ZENE!" she yelled. But he didn't notice, in fact he was at that point jumping on a large purple creature. She tried to catch up with him but this new monster was much too fast for her. Nevertheless she kept running. She ran until he couldn't be seen anymore. She ran to the edge of the city. Then she collapsed to the floor, tears streaming from her eyes.

No, I can't let this happen, not again, she thought to herself. So she went back home. And got ready. She didn't say a word to her mum or dad, and waited for them both to leave for work. Then she set out, leaving a note, and went to Mick's. He'd be able to help. And sure enough, when she reached his shop on the outskirts of the city, he didn't disappoint. The moment he saw her arriving he rushed out of the shop to greet her.

"Tara, Tara, my favourite cousin, what brings you here on this fine day? News? Or did you finally decide to take up my offer?" He spoke quickly, leaving little time between words.

"Actually, I..." He looked up expectantly in my pause "I want a Pokémon."

"That's excellent news; in fact I have the perfect thing. I've been saving this beauty for months. I'm sure you will love her." He said, taking out one of his signature Pokéballs and opening it with a flash. From the ball appeared a Ralts. Before another word could be said however, Ralts was returned to the ball and Mick said "and she could be all yours, free of charge. I just need a favour."

They spoke for a short minute before Tara agreed and was handed the ball with a "thanks". But as she turned to leave Mick stopped her.

"Where do you think you're going? You think I'm letting you go without giving me a hug?"

"I'm not in a hugging mood."

"You're never in a hugging mood. Now, come back here and give me a hug." She did, and then left.

She looked at the yellow ball as she walked to New Bark town to register. Then she heard a voice inside her head. There was no one around her, and she was in the middle of a forest so it must have been. It was Ralts.

Being psychic type Ralts could communicate telepathically with Tara, and anyone else near it. And so Tara told her about what where they were going and why (missing out the part about her dreams) "...so I need to go so that I can find Zene."

_Oh, okay. So how much further is the New Bark lab?_

"Not too far now. Oh look, we're here."

The small town of New Bark is quite impressive to see in front of you. The way the lush nature intertwines with the man-made settlements and of course the Johto Pokémon laboratory. Professor Elm was sure to be inside, doing his professor-ly duties, ready to approve her as a trainer.


	2. Chapter 2

RPG

Chapter 2

Beginning

It was less than 15 minutes later that she was again standing outside the lab, facing route 29 from the New Bark side this time. Becoming a trainer was very simple; she simply had to fill in her name and then put her info into the Pokédex. Of course she couldn't give her real name, so instead she was Miss Tara _Lost_.

She opened the Pokédex and released Ralts from her ball.

_Why do you want me?_

"Do you have a name?"

_No, my parents didn't give me one. Neither did your cousin's, "helpers"._

"It says here that you need one. Do you want to choose one?"

_Did you choose your name?_

"No-"

_Then what gives me the liberty of choosing my own? No, it should be your duty as my trainer._

"Fine," Tara said, and after a minute of thought she said "What about Lauren?"

_I should have no say in it. It is your decision and yours alone._

"Well, I like it." Tara finished, tapping the name into the Pokédex.

_Tara._ Lauren said after she'd finished.

"Yes?"

_I like it too,_ and she smiled.

So they walked back up the route to Cherrygrove, Tara concerned about her ability to go through the whole place without her parents finding her. However we didn't have much time walking before something ran into Lauren.

"Tret!" the small Pokémon cried.

"What the?" Tara said as she pulled out her Pokédex again. It was a Sentret, and it looked angry. Tara thought for a second before saying: "Lauren, attack it!"

_With what?_

She checked Lauren's moves. "But none of your attacks do damage!"

_That's not my fault!_

"Fine, use Will-O-Wisp." An odd orb of light came from the Ralts' body and moved into the wild Sentret, burning it. This didn't seem to do much to it though because right away it tackled Lauren. "Okay, use Confuse Ray." Tara said, slightly more nervous now. A similar light appeared from the Ralts, this one causing the Sentret to become confused. While this again seemed to have minimal effect, the result was a dizzy Sentret, spinning in circles and slowly burning into fainting.

The Pokédex beeped, signalling that Lauren's PGL (Projected General Level) had just increased. Tara returned her with a "Well done." And set off again, this time taking care to avoid any wild Pokémon. Eventually they reached Cherrygrove again, and stopped. If Tara could just reach the Pokécentre, then she would be able to stay until nightfall, then leave without having to hide.

The streets of the city were still busy in the afternoon, which meant Tara could easily go through the crowds until she reached the centre. Then, she checked in with her new name (stopping her parents being notified) and after she got Ralts healed they went to her room. The workers were a bit confused by this as it was only 3 in the afternoon, and most other trainers would be busy training. Or something. But otherwise she got in unnoticed.


	3. Chapter 3

RPG

Chapter 3

Night

Tara waited until Lauren fell asleep, and then her to her ball. It was 9:30 and almost completely dark outside. She left the room and handed back her keys to the same girl who had given them to her 6 hours ago. She was more than a little confused by Tara's activities, but soon forgot after she was gone. Tara kept to the edges of buildings, out of the glow of streetlights until she reached the city's outskirts.

It was a good day's walk to Violet, so she set off right away, with only the moon's light as guidance. She had to be careful, because there were a lot of Pokémon active at night and she still didn't trust Lauren enough to reveal her secrets yet. The pathway was mostly made up of earth, having been worn away by generations of trainers and travellers. However this was interspersed with large patches of long, unkempt grass, inhabited by all kinds of Pokémon. Every time she reached this grass she would run quickly through it, after making sure there were no Pokémon between her and the other side.

This didn't last long though. She almost tripped over a small Pokémon on the ground. When she righted herself she looked down on a Spinirak. She didn't have time to find this out herself though because as soon as she saw it it shot a string of sticky silk at her, covering her arm in it. She took off her backpack and fumbled with its zipper trying to get to the few Pokéballs given to her by Elm, but it shot her again, this time binding her legs together and tripping her. She reached for her open bag and grabbed the small red and white ball, but was hit again in one eye, causing her to scream out.

With her good eye she saw the spider Pokémon leap at her, pincers ready, but she pulled the ball out and threw it at the Spinirak, now only a foot away from her arm. The ball clicked in affirmation and she breathed a sigh of relief.

She took a minute to regain her breath, then she slowly removed the Spinirak's silk from her. She picked up the ball and her Pokédex started bleeping. She opened it: What would you like to name your newly captured Spinirak? She read. It was a female so she called it Amy. She certainly had good aim. Fortunately she didn't meet many other Pokémon that night, and any they did were dispatched by Amy. By the dawn she was tired of walking and sat down for a rest. Amy had already reached PGL 5.


	4. Chapter 4

RPG

Chapter 4

Robin

Lauren's ball hit the floor, and opened with a flash of light. She blinked and looked at the rising sun.

"Have a nice sleep?" Tara asked her, smiling.

_It was as good as any other._ Lauren looked around confused, _Why are we here? I thought we were still at the Pokémon centre. Did you start without waking me up?_

"I... couldn't sleep, so I decided to get a good head start."

_Aren't you tired?_

"Not really, I'm used to-" She almost finished her sentence before realising what she was saying. "I, um, well, I just don't really need to sleep much I guess."

_Oh, okay._ Lauren stretched and started walking beside Tara. _So, do you know how much further Violet City is?_

"Not very long now," Tara said, breathing a sigh of relief, "Oh, I caught another Pokémon last night."

_Really?_

"Yeah, a Spinirak. I called her Amy. I'll introduce you when we reach the City."

They were quiet for the rest of the way, waking past row upon row of trees, almost funnelling them in the right direction. After a little less than an hour they came upon another trainer. He was a short distance away from them, with a Sentret in front of him. He was commanding it to repeatedly attack a large stone, obviously as a method of battle practice. As they approached however he stopped and focused on the trainers walking towards him.

"Hey, hey!" He called to them. They continued to approach him. "Hey, do you want to battle? We really need some training, don't we spring?" His Sentret nodded vigorously.

Tara looked at Lauren. _It wouldn't hurt, would it? We could do with training too._

"Sure," Tara replied. "It would be helpful to get in some decent training before facing the Gym."

"Great!" The trainer said extending his hand, "My name's Robin."

"Tara." She said shaking.

"What level Pokémon do you have?"

"A 6 and a 5."

"Excellent, both of mine are 5. This should be interesting."

They took their places 5 metres apart, with the battlefield stretching out between them. Both trainers drew their 'dexes and prepared to release their first Pokémon.

Robin threw a ball into the centre of the "field" shouting "Leo, you're up!", and a blue and red crocodile appeared in front of him, jaws open.

Tara needed no ball as she commanded "Lauren, time to battle."

The two Pokémon faced each other, awaiting the order to attack.

Tara was first to speak, ordering Lauren to use her newly learned Confusion attack. However the moment Robin commanded Leo to use Aqua Jet Lauren was hit by the crocodile and knocked back before she had a chance to attack. She sprung back to her feet though and used confusion on the Totodile, lifting it into the air and slamming it back onto the ground. Both trainers ordered the same attacks, but this time Lauren was ready. She focused, and the ball of water that held Leo, instead of hitting her, stopped in midair. Totodile couldn't get over his confusion before he was thrown back by Lauren's, almost hitting his trainer. He was still too confused to move and so Lauren then attacked with Will-o-wisp, closing her eyes and throwing a ball of blue fire at Leo. This was too much for the water Pokémon to take, so Robin returned him. When Lauren opened her eyes again she fell to the floor, causing Tara to rush to her side.

"Well done," was all she could get in before the Ralts smiled and fell unconscious. She started to worry, "Robin, Lauren's fainted!"

"Don't worry Tara, it's natural for a Pokémon to lose consciousness after it battles because of the massive amounts of energy they use and from being hurt, she's okay"

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely, now hurry up so we can continue our battle."

Tara opened Lauren's ball and it sucked her back inside with a red flash. Then she took out Amy's ball from her belt, ready to battle. Once again the grass in front of them had a pair of Pokémon ready to fight. Spinirak took the first strike, leaping at Spring with Poison Sting. It hit the Sentret, but bounced off without making a scratch. It uncurled from its Defense Curl and Scratched Amy, utilising her surprise at how ineffective her attack was. She was knocked back, but attacked again. The same thing happened, resulting in another scratch. No matter how strong she stung Spring, Defense Curl deflected all of her attacks. Tara thought for a while, then ordered the same attack. Reluctantly Amy leapt foreword and bounced off of the Sentret again, however this time as it uncurled it was met by Amy's attack, Scary Face. Spring was stunned for a second in shock, giving Amy time to use String Shot, completely immobilising Spring. Then it was simple for Amy to finish it off with Poison Sting.

Amy turned back to Tara, a proud and happy look adoring her face. Well, Tara thought it did. She wasn't quite sure about Amy's face. She returned her and walked back to Robin.

"That was a great battle Tara, we should do it again sometime."And he started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Tara called after him.

"Violet City, I need to heal my Pokémon, and the centre there is easiest."

"Well, that's where I'm heading. Do you know how far it is?"

"We're only 10 minutes from the entrance, maybe we should walk together."

"Yeah."

And they continued to talk while they followed the rest of the road to Violet City.


	5. Chapter 5

RPG

Chapter 5

Training

And so, ten minutes later, they arrived at the outskirts of the city. In the short time they had been talking Tara had found out quite a lot, including the fact that Robin was a great trainer, having 3 badges and six other Pokémon, each over level 20. The Pokémon he used were the only one that needed training, if he'd used any others then Tara's would have been wiped out instantly. He said he still needed training before fighting Morty, leader Ecruteak (which was a short journey from Violet), which was why he was training here.

They headed to the Pokémon centre, which opposed to Cherrygrove's wasn't very central. Robin explained to her the great likelihood that a trainer on their way from Cherrygrove to Violet would be in urgent need of a Pokémon centre, whereas there was a centre south of there in between Violet and Azalea, and Ecruteak wasn't far to the west anyway. They entered the Pokémon centre to be greeted by the friendly, if a bit rushed, staff and gave in the battlers' balls. Just minutes later (being the middle of the day meant that there were quite a few other trainers all wanting Pokémon healed, but even then they took only a couple of seconds per ten balls) the Pokémon were handed back to them.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Robin asked Tara as they sat down for a rest, "Thinking of going up against Falkner?"

"Falkner?" Tara replied confused, "Who's that?"

"The gym leader here, didn't you know that?"

"But Professor Elm told me that Wayne was the Violet leader."

"Oh, yeah. Wayne's not leader anymore, he left so Falkner, his son, took over for him."

"Oh I see. Well then yes, but not yet. Lauren and Amy need more training I think."

"Well, if you need to train then why don't we train together? Neither of us will be training too far from here, and we could go against each other to test how far we've come."

Tara didn't take much time in considering her answer, "Sure."

They left the centre and immediately set off back in the direction they came from. As they walked Tara released Lauren from her ball and made sure she was okay. Then they reached the same small clearing, which they had battled in before. As they trained the trainers generally kept to themselves, using rocks and pieces of wood as targets. Lauren was out first, training with Confusion. The masterful way in which she had used it against Leo was gone however, and it seemed that it was just because of the battle situation. On her first attempt she could lift the log, but little else. After a few more attempts she could throw it. Then she started to use it, by throwing it at a rock. Lauren's telekinetic ability grew over time as she went from not even hitting the rock to her final shot which shattered the log itself.

Then Lauren sat down to rest and Amy took her turn in the same way, slamming into the rock with poison sting. This training progressed similarly, with Lauren then training Will-o-wisp, but then Tara found a problem. All of their other attacks had no effect on objects. So she pit the two Pokémon against each other, alternating between Amy's Scary Face and Lauren's Confuse Ray. Once Tara was pleased with the resulting reactions of both Pokémon to the attacks she started to think how she could test String Shot. Robin suggested using the Ralts to throw up objects with Confusion and then telling Amy to hold them with String Shot. This move proved so effective that not a single object touched the ground and afterwards the whole clearing was covered in white silk.

By 6 o'clock that evening both trainers were pleased with their progression, with all of their Pokémon reaching PGL 10. They returned to the centre in good spirits, and got their room keys. They even ate dinner together, Robin and Tara eating perfectly prepared meals made by the centre's resident chef, and the four Pokémon eating from bowls of generic (_but good none the less_ Lauren pointed out) poké-food. As Lauren showed off to Leo Spring and Amy by confusion-ing food into her mouth, their trainers sat at the table, Robin eating somewhat slower than Tara. After some time Tara noticed, calling him on it:

"Robin, you're hardly eating." She said.

"Really, oh." He replied, staring at her.

"What?"

Realising what he was doing he snapped out of his stupor, saying "Oh, um, nothing." and focused completely on his food. Tara decided not to pursue it, and after they had all finished they returned o their two rooms, ready to sleep. Tara got into her bed, pulled up the covers, and closed her eyes.

They snapped open again, the distinct image of Mew imprinted upon her eyes. How could she have forgotten? Well, she made the most of her warm, soft bed and just lay there, staring into space.


	6. Chapter 6

RPG

Chapter 6

Violet

Tara was already eating breakfast when Robin came into the Pokécentre food hall. She was so focused on her food that she didn't even notice him walking over to her.

"Hey Tara." He said once he got within hearing distance.

Tara swallowed her current spoon of cereal and replied "Oh, good morning."

"What are you doing up so early? You don't have to face Falkner for another 3 hours."

Tara took another bite to consider her answer, finally saying "I wanted to get in a bit of last minute practice to make sure my Pokémon were still performing as well as they were yesterday."

"There's a reason it's called last minute training, you don't need 2 hours of it. Come on, there's got to be another reason."

"Really Robin, that's all."

"No it's not, there's something you're not telling me."

"ROBIN!" Tara shouted, standing up, "Just leave it! It's my business what I do in the mornings so just leave me alone!" And with that she stormed out of the Pokécentre.

Tara was sitting on the bench outside Violet gym, waiting for her 9 am battle with Falkner. She glanced at her watch for the 10th time that minute to see that it was still 8:23.

_What's up Tara, you seem agitated?_

"Well, two hours ago I shouted at my only friend and then stormed away from him, and I haven't seen him since." When she finished she checked the watch once more "And I've still got half an hour to wait for my battle. And the longer I wait the more it feels like I'm not even trying to find... you know."

_Come on Tara, you can't afford to be thinking of that, not now, and not in the battle. You'll only ever reach him if you can get this badge._

"Yeah, I suppose."

And so, Tara stood in front of Falkner, leader of Violet gym and guardian of the Zephyr badge. They stood around tem metres apart, and the space between them was marked on the floor with official gym stadium lines.

"So Tara, are you okay with a two-on-two battle?"

"Yeah!" She called from across the field, not quite as nervous as she expected, but nervous all the same.

"Alright, time to send out your first Pokémon!"

With this both trainers threw Pokéballs into the middle of the field. From Falkner's ball sprung the bird Pokémon Pidgey; from Tara's Amy. And the battle started:

"Tackle!"

"Poison Sting!"

The two Pokémon collided in the air, Pidgey swooping down and Amy leaping up. Amy's horn smashing into Pidgey's beak, and although Amy was tougher Pidgey had the upper hand, with the aerial collision and its own massive speed working to its advantage. Amy smacked against the floor, and Tara could see on the Pokédex that it had done quite a lot of damage. But she could still keep going.

"Pidgey, keep going with tackle!"

In keeping with its master's order the bird swooped again, and it was so fast that it caught both Amy and Tara off guard, hitting again. _If it does that again then it's over for us,_ Tara thought to herself. The next tackle attack didn't even need an order, and had almost hit before Tara called to the waiting Spinirak "Now, Scary Face!"

The attack startled the Pidgey, allowing Amy to jump out of its way with ease. Then the rest of the battle was simple. Before Pidgey could recover Tara gave the order to use String Shot to disable Pidgey completely, and then Amy finished it off with Poison Sting.

The Pokéball Falkner held flashed as he returned the fainted Pokémon. "Well done Tara, there's not many Pokémon that can take their hits that well, and even fewer trainers who know how to use them. But don't get your hopes up, because this is where things get serious." Without another word he released a Pidgeotto which started to fly above his head.

His next order came calm and quiet, as if it were rehearsed. "Gust." The Pidgeotto had heard it many times before, and would again many times again. The bird started to flap its wing harder until a small tornado seemed to appear in front of it. The spinning wind was too much for Amy, who was naturally weak to air Pokémon already, and she fainted. Tara returned her to her ball grimacing. _If this is how strong this Pokémon is then Lauren will need to give it all she's got._ She took the ball in her hand, and tossed it out to the ring. Lauren had seen the whole of Amy's battle in Tara's head. And she wasn't that hopeful. || But she knew that she needed to fight. She knew that she could win. She thought about it over and over.

She was ready.

Lauren stood facing the Pidgeotto, and heard Tara's first command: "Confuse Ray!" Lauren closed her eyes, collecting a ball of energy between her hands, before releasing it straight at her opponent. The ghostly ball of energy flew at Pidgeotto, before smashing into the wall behind it. After easily evading the attack it was already zooming towards Lauren ready to perform the Tackle attack that Falkner had told it to. It collided with her with considerable force, being bigger and stronger than her, and she was thrown onto the floor.

Tara gasped at the sight of her on the floor, but she got back up again. _I'm not done yet._ She said to her telepathically, but Tara could sense that it was laboured.

"Go." Was all Falkner needed to say before his Pokémon started to flap its wings in the same way it had done to perform its finishing attack on Amy.

"Lauren, use Confuse Ray again, it doesn't have time to dodge it." Tara called, remembering how it had needed to create a twister before it hit Amy.

But just as energy started to cluster in Lauren's hands she was knocked backwards by mud from the arena floor, whipped up by the wind created by Pidgeotto. It hadn't been using Gust, but Mud-Slap. As the Ralts was struggling on the floor, trying to clear her eyes, Falkner made his final command "Now, finish it with Gust." The words came almost like second nature, almost as if he rehearsed them in his spare time. Lauren was still on the floor when the windstorm, came flying towards her. The battle was foregone. Falkner was already turning away from the field, when he noticed the empty space where the Ralts should have been lying unconscious. His Pokémon was just as confused.

A small space from where the attack had missed stood Lauren, a small smirk on her face. The same smile decorated the face of her trainer. "Use Double Team again." Tara said to her Pokémon, and Lauren did as she said, splitting her image into three. Undeterred Falkner's Pidgeotto used Tackle, smashing into one of the fake Ralts, and then the floor. "Now Lauren, use Confuse Ray!" And this time the ball of energy hit into its target. Falkner gritted his teeth.

"Pidgeotto, Mud-Slap!"

The bird flapped back into the air, but it could hardly see to hit her, it could hardly tell whether there were 6 opponents or 3, and hitting any of them was a ridiculous task.

"Lauren, Confusion!"

Pidgeotto was buffeted by the air around it, it started to fly erratically, and every few seconds it was thrown in another direction. Lauren finished it off by throwing it into the ground, making it faint. Falkner returned Pidgeotto to its ball with a flash, as Lauren fell into Tara's arms, exhausted.

The trainer and the leader met in the middle of the arena. "Well done Tara, I'm impressed. It's obvious that you've spent a long time training your Pokémon, and you should be proud of them. It's not often I'm beaten that easily, or that a trainer can learn so quick in-battle. You thoroughly deserve this." And he pulled out a small silver badge, which looked like a pair of wings, "It's the Zephyr badge. It's only given to those strong enough to beat me. Let it forever be a reminder to you of this battle."

"Thanks," Tara replied, taking the badge in awe. Her first gym badge. Proof that she was a good enough trainer to do things herself. That she could find Zene. She shook Falkner's hand, and turned to leave, when he called to her,

"Wait a sec, I almost forgot. Take this." And as she turned to him he threw a brown disk to her, which she caught.

"What's this?" She asked puzzled.

"That is Mud-Slap. It's a useful move, especially against tricky opponents. But be careful, you can only use TMs once each."

"Right. Bye then."

"Farewell Miss Lost."

She smiled, almost flinching at her false name, and turned to leave.

Robin was sitting in Violet park centre when Tara found him. She tried to get as close to him as possible before he saw her in case he would leave. She was still ten metres away when he spotted her. He didn't move. He was reading The Johto Teller with a Linoone curled up next to him. Tara ran up to him "Robin, I'm so sorry about before, I just, I don't know what I'm saying sometimes."

He folded his paper and put it next to him, before getting up and saying "No Tara, it's my fault, I shouldn't have pestered you, plain and simple."

"No, I acted horribly, you just wanted to know what was bothering me, and I overreacted. You were just trying to be a good friend, and I-"

"It's alright Tara, I understand. There are just some things we'd rather not share at six in the morning."

"So, we're okay?"

"If you want us to be."

When she heard this Tara grabbed Robin and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. After a second recovering from the surprise of it he returned it. Not wanting to be left out the Linoone lifted its head from the bench, and then got up and ran up Robin, coming to a rest slumped over their twinned shoulders. They split apart and the Linoone moved to its owner's shoulder, standing on its hind legs.

"Oh, Tara, meet Belle, my Linoone."

Belle leant forewords until her nose was almost meeting Tara's. She tilted her head to the side and Tara started to laugh, but composed her voice enough to say "Hello Belle, it's nice to meet you."

Tara and Robin spent the remainder of the day in the park, playing with their Pokémon in the sun.


	7. Chapter 7

RPG

Chapter 7

Sprout

It had been the best day of her life. She'd beaten a Gym Leader, made up with her friend, and had an excellent time doing virtually nothing. She was exhausted when the orange sun hit the horizon, bathing the park, and indeed the whole of Johto, in the light of the sunset. Tara fell to her back on the soft, warm grass, in the shade of a large tree. She was still breathing heavily, but it wasn't long before Lauren and Belle were on top of her. She burst into laughter as the two Pokémon moved over her body, and Robin approached, with Amy in his arms and Leo at his side.

Tara struggled to say, in between fits of hysterics "Ro... bin! Help... me... please... get... them... off!"

"Hey!" He shouted at them above Tara's incessant giggles "stop that, she can hardly breathe."

Belle and Lauren came to a rest on top of her belly and looked up at Robin, who had just put down the spider Pokémon. He was trying to look stern, but every time he glanced at Tara's still silently giggling face he couldn't help but give a small smile. The Pokémon obeyed though, and sat with the other two at Robin's feet. Robin sat down next to Tara. She pulled herself up to a sitting position.

"Thanks." She said to him, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Anytime." He replied smiling.

"No, not just for that. For everything."

Robin looked back at her confused.

"Over the past couple of days you've been really kind to me, kinder than anyone before, and I really appreciate it."

"Oh," he paused "Well, we're friends. That's what friends do."

Tara looked at him silently. Then she shuffled to his side and rested her head against his shoulder. "I'm glad you're my friend."

And they sat together, watching the sun set.

But as the top arc was almost over the horizon Robin spoke up. His face was tight, his voice in monotone "I'm leaving tomorrow."

"What?" Tara pulled her head up, shocked.

"I have to be in Ecruteak by noon."

"B-but... why?"

"I... I have someone to meet. I'm sorry Tara, but I have to leave at 7 tomorrow morning."

"Who is it, why do you have to meet them?"

"I can't tell you, I just, I have to go."

"But, I need you to, to teach me, I can't do this alone, I need your help."

"I'm sorry. Tonight is all I have left." After he said this he turned to face her. He looked, he looked puzzled. Then without a sound he slowly took hold of her shoulders, looked her in eyes, and moved his face to hers. And she kissed him back. Their Pokémon could see their motionless embrace silhouetted in the amber glow. And they parted.

"Then we still have tonight." Tara said, jumping to her feet "You said you wanted to go in Sprout Tower, well, let's go."

"What?" Robin said bemused on the floor.

"If you're going tomorrow, then I'm not wasting my time sitting here."

"Fine," he said rising to feet with a smile "let's go."

Leo and Amy were back in their balls when Robin and Tara reached the door of the tower. Robin opened it, and they both stepped in. It was pitch black. Tara could hear Robin's voice "Tara, get out your badge."

"My badge? Why?"

"Just trust me."

Tara obeyed, and just she found the badge she was illuminated by a light that seemed to come from Belle's head. When her eyes had re-adjusted Tara could see that Robin's Zephyr badge was on her head, emitting a wide ray of light.

"There, that's better. Go on, get out yours."

It was much easier to find the badge with some light, and in a few seconds she did. When she looked at it it didn't seem special. It was a piece of blue metal shaped like a pair of wings, nothing more. "What do I do with it?"

"Just give it to Lauren, trust me."

"Okay." She looked at her Ralts.

_Don't look at me, I know as much as you do._

She knelt down beside Lauren and handed her the badge. The small object glittered in the beam of light, but made no light of its own.

"Now Lauren, put it on your head."

She just looked back at him confused. Gym badges don't have a pin to attach them to things, so she didn't have a clue what do with the flat surface of the badge.

"Really, just hold it against your head."

She reached up to her helmet like head ant touched the badge to it. Almost instantly it fixed itself in place and started to emit a powerful beam of light.

"There you go. That's how HMs work. Each different badge you give a Pokémon will give them a different ability. The one we're using is Flash."

"See Robin, if you go who will be there to teach me these things?"

"Stop saying "if", I'm going no matter what. And anyway, you're a fast learner, even I managed to work it out by myself, and if you can't then there are plenty of people who've done this before, they'd be glad to help you."

He hardly saw her face turn down as Belle turned from her and they started walking in the still quite dark tower. A few minutes of bumping into each other and apologising ensued, before a staircase was found. They rose up the steps into another room, just as dark and empty. They again crossed the room and ascended to the next floor. It could be a clone of the one before.

"You know what?" said Tara as they finished climbing the third staircase "I'm getting bored. I can't believe we're missing a sunset in the park for this."

"You'll be glad we came when we reach the top. Trust me."

"Right."

As the group neared the next staircase a pair of glowing eyes stared at them from a beam near the ceiling.

"And why did they have to put the stairs on different sides of the floor?"

Robin didn't get a chance to reply before they all heard a "Hoot!" from behind them, as the Pokémon revealed itself and flew at them. They managed to dodge out of the way, but it was quick in the air. Lauren felt it hitting into her and she fell to the floor. No sooner had she done so however than Tara was holding her Pokédex.

"Lauren, use confusion!"

The Owl Pokémon was already launching another charge, but before it could reach them it was enveloped in an odd glow, and then thrown against the wall. Lauren continued her attack, slamming the Hoothoot into the floor. The Pokémon was hurt by the attacks, but it kept on, using tackle again. However, as it braced itself to hit into its foe, it fell through the air, instead hitting Lauren's Double Team. But it got back up again, and would have tried to attack again, had a red and white orb not hit it and enveloped it in a red glow.

The Pokéball hit the floor and shook once, twice, three times. Lauren turned to Tara panting, the light hitting her square in the face. _What was his problem?_ They both laughed quietly.

Tara searched her mind for a name for the Hoothoot, before settling on Lewis. It wasn't her favourite name, but it was one.

"See Tara, that kind of thing can't be taught."

She turned to him "Well, I guess I was lucky."

"Ha, luck's got nothing to do with it, you're a great trainer." He kissed her on the check and continued up the stairs. Tara was about to follow him up when she felt a tug at her consciousness. She looked down at Lauren.

_Carry me?_ She heard in her head. She leant down and picked up her Pokémon. _Thanks._ Then she felt something from Lauren, not a word, but a feeling. It was warm, and affectionate.

She walked up the stairs, with Lauren in her arms, and was surprised to see other people than Robin waiting for her. A circle of them stood in the centre of the room; there were about 14 of them. The men had shaved heads and the women's hair ran straight into the back of their robes. The robes were dark blue, and covered their whole bodies. Even while carrying her Ralts Tara couldn't help reaching for Robin's hand.

As they approached the circle it parted, and the man standing at the back looked up at them. It wasn't difficult for this floor actually had its own light in the form of numerous candles placed around the room's perimeter. As he did so, the others seemed to sink slightly, as if bowing.

Then he spoke "Welcome to Sprout Tower, my children. I am Sage Li, Elder of the Tower, and these are my brothers and sisters. Welcome Robin, apprentice hunter, and Tara, secretive searcher. And welcome to your friends. The two of you may each ask of us one answer, and hat answer we shall give." The two trainers looked at each other confused, but the Sage continued "I know that you both wish to learn these answers in private, it is not our task to enquire, just to teach."

"Um, thanks," Robin said "But you don't need to do that, we just came here to-"

"We know that you both seek answers, my children, and we would take no trouble in revealing those answers to you. Our goal is to teach, and teach alone. Come Robin my son, you may ask your question away from the ears of your friend." The other sages moved apart, forming a corridor for the Elder and Robin to walk down, and then they disappeared through a door at the far side of the room. Shortly he was lead back out, and the Sages closed the circle around him. A few seconds later Sage Li took him back to the room, and beckoned for Tara to follow him. She walked past Robin, still holding Lauren in her arms.

"You need not bring her my daughter, if you do not wish, however I see that you share a bond already that is to be envied, so I understand that you would rather take her, come." He took her into the room and turned to her "So my daughter, what do you wish to know?"

She didn't take much time thinking "I, I want to know where Zene is."

"Ah yes, your Pokéopath cousin, very well, come."

He led her back out, and she stood at the centre of the circle just as Robin had done. The Elder closed his eyes and assumed the same position as the other sages. And then he was back up, and she was following him back into the room. He turned to her puzzled.

"Yours is not the most simple of answers. It is hard to tell the exact point of the one you seek at this time. You see, he is in two places right now."

"What? How?"

"We do not know the means by which he exists in both places, only that he does. Right now Zene is in both Ecruteak and Cherrygrove."

"Um, well, thank you Elder."

And with that she left. She was too confused to talk to Robin, and hardly said more than goodnight when they returned to the Pokécentre. She couldn't sleep, but that was normal for her. Either way, if he had got to Ecruteak, then he was just as far ahead of her as Robin was, and she couldn't let it stay like that, she had to catch up with him, had to find him, and then... what? What would she do if she found him? Talk to him, convince him to never leave her side, explain to him about the dreams, about Mew? No, she couldn't do that; she couldn't even bring herself to tell Lauren about that.

So instead of thinking, she just blanked, staring at the dark ceiling and thinking of no more.


	8. Chapter 8

RPG

Chapter 8

Departure

After waking up and dressing, Robin passed by the open door of Tara, who was already awake, and packing her things in her orange backpack. Lauren was standing beside her, helping pack by using confusion to move the clothes. She didn't see him, and kept folding and packing, every couple of items she'd pick up Lauren's work from the bed.

"Tara?" He said tentatively, placing a foot in the room.

She turned her head to face him, a blank expression on her face. "Oh," her word was dull, but not heavy "Hi Robin." And then she turned back to packing her clothes.

He took another step closer "Um, I'm just about to go and have some breakfast. Are you coming down?"

"Oh, I've already had breakfast."

"Really? It's only 6 in the morning, how long have you been up?"

"A while, I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep."

"Oh, ok. Well, I could help if you like."

"Aren't you going down for breakfast?" She replied, holding her monotone.

"Yeah, but if I've only got an hour left then I want to spend it with you."

"I'd rather you didn't."

At this his face fell, and he made a somewhat accusatory expression. "Why not?"

"If you don't have something to eat now you'll either be late or hungry until you get there, so I think you should go." She finished, struggling, Lauren knew, to keep her voice. She could see, in the corner of her eye, a tear forming. Tara turned away from Robin as he replied evenly:

"Fine." He pulled the door shut as her tear hit the floor. Tara fell to the bed, and Lauren climbed on beside her.

_Why can't you tell him?_ She asked, placing her arm on Tara's.

"I can't... say goodbye... Lauren." She said between sobs "And if I push him away... I won't have to."

_But you love him Tara._

"You think I don't know that!" she shouted.

_Well it doesn't seem like you do Tara. If you do, then why are you doing this to him?_

"What?"

_He loves you too you know Tara, and it's hard enough for him to leave you. How bad must he feel with you acting like this?_

"But," Tara whispered, almost inaudibly "If he loves me then why is he going?"

_You know that's not his fault Tara, if he could stay with you then he would, but he has to go, and has had to since before he knew you. You can't blame him._

"But I'll miss him-"

_Then miss him Tara, he has his own life to live, it doesn't revolve around you._

Tara just stared forward, stunned. She was no longer crying, but her face was wet with her tears still. "But it's going to hurt. It always hurts."

_I know Tara. But you'll live with it. And then you'll meet up again, and find Zene, and earn Elite status as a trainer, just because. It'll all be fine Tara, I know it. You just have to wait for it to happen._

"Ha, you don't have Future Sight yet." She retorted jokingly, her voice wavering slightly.

_Like I need it._ Lauren replied smiling.

Robin sighed, walking out of the Centre and checking his Pokégear. The display said 6:51. He pocketed it again and began walking to the Western exit of Violet, Belle lying across his shoulders. His head fell forwards and he stared at his feet. Then the Pokégear beeped. Puzzled he pulled it out again, to find a new message. It read: _Turn Around_. Even more confused, he looked back, to see Tara standing a couple of metres away.

"I've never been good at saying goodbye." A small, apologetic smile crossed her face as she said it.

Robin just stood there, silent.

"Is it too late to say sorry?"

"I, um... no, it's not too late."

The moment the "n" started to form on his lips Tara ran to him and flung her arms around him, almost to the point of suffocation. "I'm sorry Robin, I'm so, so sorry! I've been so annoying and crazy and stupid, and all I really want is to hold you. Like this. For us to stay like this, forever." She pulled away, an odd look on her face. "I, I love you Robin."

Robin was speechless for a few seconds, before replying "... I love you too Tara. I love you more than anything in the world." And their faces met each other and they kissed. And then Robin pulled away. "I'm really sorry, but I have to go now or I'll be late. And please don't ask me to stay, because I can't, and if you did then I'd have to."

Tara felt a tear form in her eye as she almost failed to say "O-okay."

Robin kissed her again, and then said "Goodbye, see you soon."

"Not soon enough." Tara replied as he started to walk away, still facing her. "Bye, Robin."

He was just disappearing through the west Violet gate when Tara heard: _Well done._

"Thanks," she said, looking down at her companion, the single tear falling to the ground.

Her bags were packed and she'd checked out of the Pokécentre. The backpack was hanging from her back; her Pokégear and Pokédex were in her jean pockets and at her belt hung her three full Pokéballs. It had been three hours since Robin left and Tara was ready to start the next stage of her journey. She was standing at the south exit of Violet. Here it was, the first true step.


	9. Chapter 9

RPG

Chapter 9

Wild

It had been a whole hour since she'd stopped crying. Apparently she'd run out of tears, so it became much more difficult. Anyway, she knew she shouldn't be crying, and the promise that she'd see Robin again managed to pull her back into reality, where she needed to leave soon so that she'd reach the halfway Centre by the evening.

She'd been discussing strategy with Lauren in the later hours of the previous evening, concerning her newly learned technique: Teleport. They both assumed that it could act as a more effective version of the way that she'd used Double Team against Falkner, as well as its new and equally effective uses.

By now she was completely ready, and fully composed for the task ahead. It was a simple route, just keep heading south, either through the overgrown grass, in which wild Pokémon lived; or along the bridge, to be met by countless water specialist Fisherman trainers. So, with Lauren on her shoulder, she made her way past the hulking Ruins of Alph to her right, and at the split, she kept to the right, and into the long grass. After all, her Pokémon needed the experience. She may have won against Falkner, but he was number one, the easiest of the lot, and she had to admit that she had some trouble against him.

Tara's new Hoothoot, Lewis, was only PGL 7, making him the lowest level of Tara's Pokémon, and therefore most in need of training, so Tara set his Pokéball at the front of her belt so that we would be easiest to release and recall.

With nothing but the thoughts of training her Pokémon and reaching Azalea Town in her mind, Tara took the first turning to the left, favouring the possibility of trainers over the inevitability of wild Pokémon. Whatever luck's intentions however, she didn't walk more than ten feet alongside the enormous boulder before she saw a bored looking young trainer leaning against it. Seconds later he looked up and spotted her, calling out,

"Hey, you're a trainer right?" He seemed to work out the answer for himself when he saw Lauren on Tara's shoulder. "Let's battle!" He'd already pulled a Pokéball out, and Tara knew that if you were challenged to a battle by another trainer you had to accept.

Taking a couple of large strides Tara got into a battling position, mooting the need for a reply by grabbing Lewis' ball and opening it. Suddenly, with a bright red flash, both Pokémon appeared at once, a Hoothoot and a Rattata. According to Tara's Pokédex the enemy Pokémon was at level 6, making Lewis the stronger of the two. Excellent.

"Lewis, start with Foresight!"

As commanded, the Owl-Pokémon's eyes turned to slits as a semi-visible ray of light emanated from them.

"A wasted move, Tackle!"

The Rattata leapt at Lewis, taking a small chunk of his HP as the attack collided. Lewis then responded with the same attack, doing considerably more damage to his opponent. For the third time Tackle was used, this time by the Rattata again, but just as it was about to hit, Tara commanded Lewis to fly higher, and the rat Pokémon sailed underneath him, making him incredibly vulnerable for Lewis' next tackle. This attack was critical, and reduced the Rattata to little more than minimum HP.

"Oh yeah? Try dodging this! Quick attack!"

The Pokémon quickly recovered and dashed to the Hoothoot, his speed making the journey less than a second long, and he was thrown back, injured. However he was able to attack again, and as he initiated the final tackle, the Rattata tried to run away, but it was no use, as thanks to Foresight, Lewis knew ever move it tried to make, and hit with full force when the attack finally collided.

The Rattata fainted, causing a cry of irritation from its trainer, who proceeded to return the Pokémon, and pull the second ball from his belt, releasing a level 8 Zubat. Tara hastily returned Lewis, and Lauren jumped off her shoulder.

_Simple enough, eh?_

"Yeah." Tara replied, with a smile. Both of them knew what to do.

Lauren started with a confusion attack, throwing Zubat back, right into the boulder. It managed to shake off the attack and at its trainer's command flew at the Ralts, jaws open, ready to use Leech Life.

_Just say when._

Tara waited until the Zubat was inches away from Lauren, then shouted "Now!" Lauren completely disappeared, and Zubat crashed into the ground, creating a cloud of dust around itself. Its trainer looked around, shocked, but before he could even find the opposing Pokémon, Tara called to a tiny figure standing atop the boulder "Finish it Lauren, Confusion!"

The Zubat was surrounded by blue light for less than a second, before its remaining HP was reduced to 0. The trainer returned his Pokémon, just as Lauren appeared next to Tara.

_I think it works. _Lauren said, smiling.

"I think you're right."

The Trainer walked to Tara and sighed "Nice match, you've got some strong Pokémon." They then synched their Pokédexes to record the match in the official League database, and Tara continued on, with Lauren walking beside her.

Not long after, they came to some long grass, which they both knew was heavily populated by wild Pokémon. But they also knew that it was the only way forward, so into the grass they strode. The tall blades of grass reached halfway up Tara's body, and Lauren had to teleport back onto her shoulder just to see where she was going. After a couple of minutes, shuffling through the awkward and itchy flora, they saw a small blinking light just on a level with the grass. The light stopped moving, as Tara got closer, and underneath it the grass shook as the Pokémon it was attached to revealed itself. The moment it did Tara threw down Lewis' ball, getting ready for the battle.

The battle was simple enough. Both Pokémon exchanged Tackle attacks until the higher level Hoothoot knocked out the Mareep. Tara studied Lewis' stats worriedly. He could hardly take another fight, and still didn't have any decent attacks. He also had no way of defending himself against Electric attacks; it had been just a matter of luck that this one didn't have any. She reached for the Mud Slap TM that Falkner had given her, and held it out to Lewis. He looked at it for a moment, then a bright light enveloped him and the disk seemed to be wrenched from her hands. The glow subsided, and the TM disk shattered, falling into the grass, leaving Lewis, looking somewhat smug.

The rest of the way passed in much the same way, and by the time Tara reached the Centre, each of her Pokémon was exhausted, but full of experience. It was dark by then and the bright half-moon lighted the way, before the brightly lit Pokémon centre came into view. Tara entered, and was immediately warmed by the fans by the door. The girl sitting behind the counter spotted her as she walked in,

"Hey, are you okay? It's getting quite late; it's a good thing you got here before it got really dark." Tara didn't really feel like talking at that point, she she just nodded and proceeded to the desk. "Do your Pokémon need healing? It's quite a long way from Violet to here. To be honest I think it's too long for starting trainers." Tara handed over the three Pokéballs. "Thanks, they'll be ready for you by the morning. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Where can I get a drink?" Tara asked, only just realising how dry her throat was.

"Just around the corner on your left." The girl replied with a tired smile.

Tara went and downed a couple of cups of water, before making for the seats surrounding the edge of the centre's foyer. But before she could sit down a dark figure gestured to her from outside the window. She looked around, before reluctantly exiting the Centre and approaching the man.

"Hey, do you want to buy a Slowpoke Tail?"

"A what!" Tara replied, shocked.

"C'mon, just 30,000 League credits. I'm sure that an experienced trainer such as yourself has plenty of credits to spare." He started to lean over her, his almost mask like sunglasses glinting in the moonlight. Tara fled back inside, and abruptly asked for a room key from the receptionist, before hurrying up to her room and locking the door, the fact that she didn't even have a tenth that many credits never crossing her mind.


End file.
